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Route map to mainstream equality and diversity |
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As the Service seeks to integrate equality and diversity into day-to-day activities, John Hurren advocates a ground-breaking model and support process known as REMAP – Respect and Equality Mainstreaming Action Plan – comprising training, performance management, equality impact assessments and audit/governance to ensure comprehensive vertical and horizontal infiltration of the organisation to transform the culture
WHEN NEW LAWS, WHICH HAVE A big impact on the Fire and Rescue Service, are introduced, a progressive evolution has been noticeable involving stages of denial, selfrealisation, development, compliance, and eventually, commitment. This last stage has only been achieved as a result of a few champions at first, strong leadership and pressure from representative bodies, but has been a slow process, rather than a radical quick change as a result of the legislation.
Commitment Beyond Compliance
Reflecting on the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Fire Service was slow in recognising that there would be a major impact on an emergency service that was used to working in a hazardous environment and employed staff who were not averse to taking a few risks for the benefit of the public. Life expectancy for a young firefighter in the seventies was significantly lower than it is today. Early compliance saw more extensive use of breathing apparatus and improvements in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), however “real men rarely wore gloves!” Changes to working practices accelerated after the introduction of the NIG report for training in hazardous occupations and later by the introduction of more detailed regulations in the early nineties, known as ‘the six pack’.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations introduced Risk Assessments and these were seen as bureaucratic nuisances until the concept of a dynamic risk assessment was added to the Fire Service dictionary, as a means of applying health and safety considerations practically in an operational environment. In the 21st century organisational risk is part of general planning considerations in addition to the personal and environmental risks that dominated previously. Nowadays, the safety culture that infiltrates all workplaces, operational or otherwise, is evident at every turn, and health and safety has truly evolved from a tag-on consideration, to part of an integrated approach which drives the priorities of the Service and can be seen embedded in policies, procedures, working practices and behaviour.
Equality and Diversity Evolution
The same evolution appears to be occurring in relation to equality and diversity laws and is gaining momentum after a slow start. Additional detailed laws covering a broader range of considerations have been added to the statute books and standards have emerged relating to age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or faith in addition to the more familiar gender, race and ethnicity requirements.
Fire Service managers were outraged at the outcomes of HMI’s thematic review of equality in the Fire Service nearly ten years ago and became very defensive when described as institutionally racist following the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. However, with a strong lead from the Chief Fire Officers Association and the Fire Brigades Union, the emergence of minority support groups and specialist equality and diversity advisers were seen, and champions started to make an impact on traditional working practices and attitudes. Additional duties placed on public services, including the requirement to publish a Race Equality Scheme, targets for the recruitment, retention and progression of under represented members of the Service (even though not thought out properly) and the introduction of local authority equality standards, all contributed to the progress being made. Whilst die-hards still argued that firefighting is a man’s job, the majority of fire and rescue employees recognised the broader skill base and change of attitudes necessary within a changing environment, which diversity could bring. Early successes in fire and community safety work exemplified how diversity could introduce a range of different responses depending on the needs of different vulnerable communities.
A new statutory Fire and Rescue Service framework and changing priorities has reinforced the need for diverse solutions to reduce risk and pressure from government. Plus local expectations for continuous improvements in performance means a more open minded approach to managing all aspects of community risk. This combined with a workforce that no longer unquestioningly obeys the orders of senior managers without seeing the justification and fairness of the decisions.
Mainstreaming E&D to Become Organisational Norm
The Fire and Rescue Service is now ready to take the next step to integrate equality and diversity into day-to-day activities, rather than treating it as a tag-on consideration. However, they may need help to achieve this, hence the development of a model and supporting process known as REMAP – Respect and Equality Mainstreaming Action Plan. The REMAP model comprises of four elements: training, performance management, equality impact assessments and audit/governance. The desired outcome moves compliance of the various equality and diversity legislation to a commitment to mainstream equality and diversity in the organisation through practical application in every policy, procedure, project plan or partnership arrangement. The REMAP process uses elements of a project management framework, which can be applied to the review, or development of the ways things are done throughout the organisation.
When integrating the legal case for compliance with the moral, financial and business cases for equality and diversity, managers will understand the need to support and apply the REMAP process. By introducing vertical and horizontal infiltration of the organisation, every function at every level will become aligned with the equality and diversity strategy and the culture will be transformed, without having to wait for top-down, hierarchical instruction.
Within the foreword of the Fire and Rescue Service Business Case for Equality and Diversity, Sir Graham Meldrum states: ‘I have long believed that the key to addressing the issues of diversity lay in the hands of Chief Fire Officers and members of the Fire Authority, in providing strong leadership. I am convinced that we in the Fire Service should not need any legal or financial reason to support what is an operational imperative for success. If we are to make the difference to community safety and play our part then diversity should be at the very heart of all we do’. |
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